Tandem-spring draft-rigging for railway-cars.



No. 644,7!7. Paientd Mar; 6, won. 0. m. MILEHAM.

TANDEM SPRING DRAFT RIGGING FOR RAILWAY CARS.

(Application filed may 19, 1899.)

(No Model.)

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H 15 ATTORNEYS,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES M. MILEI-IAM, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO WILLIAM II. MINER, OF SAME PLACE.

TANDEM SPRING DRAFT-'RIGGING FOR RAILWAY-CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 644,717, dated March 6, 1900.

Application filed May 19,1899. Serial No. 717,405. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES M. MILEHAM, a citizen of the United States, residing in Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Tandem-Spring Draft-Rigging for Railway-Cars, of which the following'is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in double or tandem spring draft-rigging of railway-cars.

The object of my invention is to provide a tandem-spring draft-rigging with proper means for centering the draw-bar extension or pocket between the stop-castings, while permitting the draw-bar and its extension or pocket to have the necessary lateral play or swinging movement to permit the cars of the train to pass around curves, and thus to secure a more direct and central draft on the followers and springs and prevent diagonal or side strains tending to throw the car from the track.

My invention consists in the means Iemploy to accomplish this result--that is to say, it consists, in a tandem-springdraft-rigging, in the combination, with the draw-bar and its extension or pocket, the draft-timbers, stopcastings, followers, and tandem springs, of a saddle on the rear end of the draw-bar extension or pocket fitting between the pocket and the stop-castings and substantially filling the space between the stopcastings and the pocket on each side, so that as the draw-bar extension or pocket reciprocates back and forth between the stoprcastin gs the saddle will serve to hold the rear end of the draw-bar extension or pocket centrally between the stopcastings and against the rear follower and spring, thus securing a central bearing against the springs, While permitting the draw-bar of the coupler to have the necessary lateral play or swinging movement to enable the cars to pass around curves.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a plan View of a tandem-spring draft-rigging embodyin g my invention or improvement. Fig. 2 is a detail horizontal section showing the rear portion of the draft-rigging and to which my improvement is applied. Fig. 3 is a lon gitudinal vertical section on line 3 3 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a detail View of the centeringsaddle.

In the drawings A, represents the cross-sill, and 13-13 the draft-timbers, of a railway-car; C, the draw-bar of the coupler, and 1) its extension or pocket through which the car-coupler or its draw-bar is connected with the springs and their followers.

F F are tandem springs, andf graduated or smaller tandem springs within the larger ones.

G G are the stop-castings, securely bolted to the draft-timbers B and having stops 9 for the followers H to abut against. The drawbar extension or pocket D is furnished with abutments cl to bear against the followers.

M is a centering-saddle for centering the rear end of the draw-bar extension or pocket D between the stop-castings G G or the rear stops g g thereon. The limbs m of the saddle M are of suflicient length to permit the necessary forward-and-backward movement of the draw-bar and its extension or pocket without causing the saddle to move beyond the stops g g of the castings G. In everyposition, therefore, of the draw-bar and its extension or pocket the saddle M will properly center the rear end of said pocket or extension between the stop-castings, and thus cause it to bear against the rear follower and the spring properly and centrally, while at the same time permitting lateral and swinging movement of the draw-bar and its extension or pocket. The saddle M preferably fits astride the rear end or abutment d of the pocket D, and it is preferably secured to the rear follower H by a rivet or bolt m passing through the saddle and through the follower. The rivet or bolt m is preferably also furnished with a centering stud or head fitting inside the smaller spring f to hold the spring central with the follower.

While my invention is specially designed for use upon what is commonly known as double or tandem spring draft-rigging for railway-cars-such, for example, as illustrated in the drawings it will be understood by those skilled in the art that my invention may be used on other constructions of draftriggings for railway-cars than those employing double or tandem springs.

I claim 1. In atandeln-spring draft-riggingfor railway-cars, the combination with the draw-bar and its extension or pocket, of draft-timbers, stop-castings, tandem springs and followers, there being open spaces for lateral play between the draw-bar extension or pocket and the stop-castings of a centering-saddle at the rear end of the draw-bar extension or pocket and fitting between the same and the stop-castings or the rear stops thereon, to center the rear end of said draw-bar extension or pocket by permitting the draw-bar to swinglaterally substantially as specified.

2. In a tandem-spring draft-rigging for railway-cars, the combination with a draw-bar and its'extension or pocket, of draft-timbers, stop-castings, tandem springs and followers, there being open spaces for lateral play between the draw-bar extension or pocket and the stop-castings of a centering-saddle at the rear end of the draw-bar extension or pocket and fitting between the same and the stop-castings or the rear stops thereon to center the rear end of said draw-bar extension or pocket by permitting the draw-bar to swing laterally, said centering-saddle having limbs extending rearwardly to compensate for the backwardand-forward movement of the draw-bar and its extension or pocket, substantially as specified.

3. In a draft-rigging for railway-cars, the combination with a draw-bar and its extension or pocket, of the stop-castings, spring and followers, there being open spaces for lateral play between the draw-bar extension or pocket and the stop-castings and acentering-saddle at the rear end of the draw-bar extension or pocket and fitting between the same and the stop-castings to center said extension or pocket between the stop-castings while permitting the draw-bar to swing laterally as required in passing around curves, substantially as specified.

4. In a draft-rigging for railway-cars, the combination with a draw-bar and itsextension or pocket, of the stop-castings, spring and followers, there being open spaces for lateral play between the draw-bar extension or pocket and the stop-castings and a centering-saddle at the rear end of the draw-bar extension or pocket and fitting between the same and the stop-castings to center said extension or pocket between the stop-castings while permitting the draw-bar to swing laterally as required in passing around curves, said centering-saddle being secured to the rear follower of the draft-rigging and embrae= ing said draw-bar extension or pocket, substantially as specified.

CHARLES M. MILEHAH.

Witnesses:

L. E. OURTIs, H. M. MUNDAY. 

